A TENNIS racket appeal has been launched to make the sport more accessible in disadvantaged areas.

Teesside High School, in Eaglescliffe, has become the first school in the region to sign up to an initiative to get more youngsters playing tennis.

The North-East Tennis Association is encouraging pupils to hand in old rackets which can be refurbished and distributed to disadvantaged areas.

Joanna Cunliffe, Teesside High's tennis coach, and player Sarah Borwell, currently ranked fifth in Britain and a Wimbledon contender, launched the scheme.

Ms Cunliffe said: "This is the only initiative in the North-East, and our aim is to provide the equipment so everybody can play.

"There is still an elitist view of tennis - dressed in whites - but it isn't. If you have a racket, you can play, wherever and whenever you like."

Ms Cunliffe hopes to take take the tennis racket programme to comprehensive schools across the region.

"There are 68 affiliated tennis clubs in the North-East and, if people know there is decent equipment provided, all they need to do is turn up.

"There is coaching and professional help at these clubs, with the idea that we make tennis as accessible as other popular sports like football."